Awards

When Otto Nemenz immigrated to Los Angeles in the early 1960s, he dreamed of becoming a director of photography. The native of Austria started as a camera technician at Panavision, worked his way up to camera assistant and finally, in 1975, his dream came true, and he became director of photography on the TV film After School Special.

The 95th Academy Awards have come a long way from the years of #Oscarssowhite. Among the many signs of change: the overwhelming triumph of the Asian-dominated Everything Everywhere All at Once (7 wins out of eleven nominations) with Michelle Yeoh being the first Asian woman to win Best Actress for her role in the film; Guillermo del Toro’s Oscar for Best Animated Film for Pinocchio.

The 95th Academy Awards, held at the Dolby Theatre, was a  historic evening, especially for Asian talents. A number of the winners, led by Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and The Daniels (directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) of the absurdist comedy-drama Everything Everywhere All at Once, made history and broke ceilings.

For once, costume designers were center stage at UCLA Film School's James Bridges Theater last Saturday. The five Oscar nominees for Best Costume Design were the main cast of characters in a lively and interesting panel moderated by Deborah Nadoolman Landis, a renowned costume designer herself (Animal House, The Blues Brothers, Indiana Jones, among her many film credits).

How do children cope with war? This is one of the questions that A House Made of Splinters seeks to answer. The documentary film tells the story of a shelter for neglected children in Ukraine who are highly affected by the war in their country.

What do we do when we see people being harassed right in front of us? Do we stand up for them? Or do we let others take that responsibility? That is the question at the heart of Eirik Tveiten’s short film Night Ride, nominated for an Oscar in the short film category.   “It is quite common that people in the Nordic countries mind their own business,” says Norwegian writer and director Eirik Tveiten, who is at the Academy Museum with his film team for a brunch event with the Norwegian Chamber of Commerce in Los Angeles.